BENGALURU: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday questioned the Karnataka government’s move to take over land around the NICE Road project, alleging that 1,000-2,000 acres could be transferred to ‘benami’ beneficiaries involved in commercial dealings.
“Who is taking over the 1,000 or 2,000 acre of land around NICE? Are you taking it over for the Karnataka government, or are you getting it taken over for some benami persons who are carrying out some business dealings?” Kumaraswamy said while speaking to reporters.
Questioning the government’s decision to distribute about 1,400 sites, he said, “Whose ancestral property are you distributing in the first round? Which farmers are you giving it to?” He said the exercise could become another programme for financial irregularities. “Stop the toll collection. They have not stopped collecting toll. The courts have already said that there are irregularities in it,” he said.
“The framework agreement was signed on April 3, 1997, and 30 years will be completed in 2027. What have they done? Is the 111-km road completed? Who stopped them from completing it?” he said. He also questioned whether the government was implementing the directions issued by the High Court and Supreme Court in connection with the NICE project.
“The Supreme Court and High Court have obtained documents and pulled them up. They have given guidance on what the government should do and what is expected of it. Are they implementing it?” Kumaraswamy said.
Will expose NICE irregularities, says Nikhil
Alleging large-scale irregularities in the NICE project, JDS state youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy claimed that the NICE company had earned hundreds of crores of rupees and said “explosive facts” about the project would be revealed within a week.